Gun perforator cartridge



Sept. 29, 1942.

GUN PERFORATOR CARTRIDGE I if.

illl

INVENTOR r 62-026: E 7Z/EECHEK BY M Q ATTORNEY G. F. TURECHEK ,297,037

Patented Sept. 29, 1942 g 2,291,0311) 1 I GUN rEarona'roa -o in George F. Turechek, LosAngelesj;

to Lane-Wellsv Company, Los a corporation ofDelavgare v A Application February 14, l954l;f8 7 g c v 11Claims.""

' My invention relates. to a well perforating gun I having cartridges; ,that'is, to cartridges-employed" indevices which are lowered into well casing for the purposeuof'firing bulletsthrough thecasing l to permih'entry of; fluid from the formation Amongthe objects of my'invention are;

' First, to provide a cartridge which 'is sealed perforator may be submerged toigreat depths;

Second, to provide a sealed cartridge which eliminates the provision of a seal around thegun' [barrel or through its gun bore;

1 Third, to provide a gun perforator cartridge which,v although including a metal shell and befrom damage resulting from'the explosive v suresin' the cartridge; and

ing subjected is extreme internal pressures, is

freadily removed from thechamber in which t ffits to permit reloading;' 1

Fourth,'to provide a gunperforator cartridge which-is particularly adapted for electrical ignition and which isxso arranged'that a permanent contact pin may beemployed, the cartridge shell being so arranged that it protects the contact pin pres- Flfth,to provide a gun perforator cartridge 1 .which inoorporatesa rupturable partition initial- (cut e has is provided 'withfla: gun-"are. s]

' therein and receives a bullet 6.

agriinsttheentry of liquids. even though the gun j Thecartridge chamber or socket 3 receives a" cartridge designated generally by I. The cartridge; comprises a shell 8 which is cup-shaped, forming'f a-head portion 9 and cylindrical side walls I0 directed toward the inner end ofthe cartridge socket. The inner end of the cartridge shell is closed by a base member I I which is pre!- erably provided with an annular rim. l2 fitting inside the inner'margin of.the side wallsilll. A

I thin insulation gasket I3 is interposed between;

the base, and the shell-8. The gasket] may be formed-of insulation-material or may be in the nature of' an enamel or oxide coating directly on thebase or shell, or'such coating may b applied-to both the base and shell. In this connection, it should be noted that both the base and shell are formed of metal.

Within the rim I! there is fitted a fuse mount-.

' ing diskdl formed of insulation material, upon ly'closingthe gun bore for the purpose of delay ing expansion of the explosiveso that the explosive pressure may be increased before being reacceleration of the bullet andhence its penetration power.

With the above and other objects in view,.as may appear hereinafter, reference is directed to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a gun.perforator unit incorporating my cartridge, the cartridge, bullet ,and contact pin housing being shown in elevation, and the cartridge sleeve being shown partially in section and partially in elevation; and

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through 2-2 of Figure -l, showing further I details of the cartridge construction.

In the drawing a gun body I is shown which may be adapted to screw into sockets provided in a suitable holder, as shown in the Lane Patent No. 2,062,974 or may be incorporated'integrally therewith as shown in the Johnston Patent. No. 2,048,451; In either event the gun body is' provided with a gun barrel socket 2 whichis threads leased against-the bullet, thereby to increase the- 3 20." The liner or sleeve may be in the form of a molded cup-shaped member conforming to the shape of-the socket 3 and formed of relatively soft material such as. rubber. The sleeve serves twopurposes: First, towithstand the hydrostatic pressure ,of liquids in which the gun perforator may be immersed, to prevent such'liquids from passing between the cartridge and its socketand entering the shell through its juncture with the base II; and, second, tocushion the shell when the cartridge is ignited and facilitate subsequent removal of the cartridge. The liner practically fills the space in which it fits so that, although being formed of soft rubber-like material and 1 therefore acting inv the nature of a liquid, it is ed. At theinner end of the gun barrel socket 1 there is formed a cartridge socket 3 of smallerdiunable to escape or flow. Thus, although the pressure g'enerated'within the cartridge may ex- 1 ceed 100,000 pounds per square inch the liner is [not destroyed, but remains in place-and prevents contact of the shell with the 'surroundingbodymember. Consequently, after the'cartridge has L been discharged and it is desired to reload, the old shellmay be readily removed from the socket.

ameten-f The gun barrel socket 2 receives a gun If attempt is made to use an unlined metal smaller; than the cartridge socket 3 and are adaptedito be covered by a sealing liner or sleeve shell which contacts the walls of the cartridge chamber the shell is forced into such intimate contact with the walls by the extreme explosive pressures that it is virtually impossible to remove the shell except by drilling or grinding it out. This is too expensive an operation. The liner entirely prevents this condition.

The bullet 6 is spotwelded or otherwise secured to or, 'if desired, made integral with the shell 8. The head 9 of the shell is designed to give way when the powder pressure exceeds a predetermined value, and that part of the head covering the bore is discharged with the bullet, leaving a hole in the shell 1. This, ofcourse, ruins the shell I for further use; however, theshoulder at the forward end of the shell which remains after the hole is formed serves for the insertion of a suitable. pulling tool to remove the shell in the course of reloading the gun unit.

The rupturing of the shell afford a time delay between ignition of the explosive and application of the explosive pressure against the bullet, which permits more-complete and eflicient combustion of the explosive powder and materially increases the acceleration of the bullet thereby increasing its muzzle velocity and striking power. Also, the shell 8, comprising the integral head 9 and side walls l0, form a seal against the application of pressure be tween the inner end of the gun barrel and the shoulder formed at the inner end of the gun barrel socket. In other words, the pressure area against the gun barrel by reason of discharge of the cartridge is limited to the diameter of the cartridge socket, as distinguished from the diameter of the gun barrel socket. Consequently, the force tending to urge the gun barrel out of its socket is reduced to a minimum. In other words, the very substantial advantages obtained in my previous Patent No. 2,092,294 are retained in the present construction. It should be noted, however, that no fluid seal other than the liner 20 is required, that is, the outer end of the gun barrel may be open and no seal is needed between the threads connecting the gun barrel with the gun barrel socket. The shell 8 and its base II are sufficiently ruggedto withstand the external hydrostatic pressure that may be applied when the gun is submerged to great depths in liquid.

Electrical connection is made with the cartridge through its base member H. The inner end of the cartridge socket 3 is intersected by a bore of very small diameter which receives a contact pin 2!. The contact pin 2| extends through a small hole provided in the inner end of the sealing sleeve 20 and is urged inwardly by a spring 24. Thespring 24 also bears against an outer terminal 25 protruding from the gun body. The contact pin; spring and outer terminal are all mounted within a housing 26 of insulating material and-the bore through which the contact pin 2| extends is lined with insulation 21.

When the gun body I is secured in a holder such as shown in the aforementioned Patent 2,062,974, the contact pin is automatically con-. nested in an electrical circuit with a sequencing switch, also disclosed in said patent. Thus, current may be supplied to a series of gun units momentarily and in sequence.

It should be noted that the base H is sufiiciently thick and formed of proper material to withstand the explosive pressures generated in the/cartridge, and the contact pin bore is maintained as small as possible so as to minimize the unsupported area of the base.

Various changes and alternate arrangements may be made within the scope of the appended claims, in which it is my intention to claim all novelty inherent in the invention as broadly as the prior art permits.

I claim:

1. The combination with a gun perforator having a cartridge socket, of a cartridge comprising: a metal case containing an explosive and including an integral part adapted to be ruptured by said explosive; and a blanket of yieldable material interposed between said cartridge and the walls of said socket to facilitate removal of said case after discharge of the explosive.

2. The combination with a gun perforator having a cartridge socket, of a cartridge comprising: a metal case containing an explosive and including a destructible wall adapted to be ruptured by said explosive; electrically responsive means for firing said cartridge; and a blanket of yieldable insulation material interposed between said case and said socket.

3. The combination with a gun perforator having a cartridge socket exposed to well fluids, of a cartridge comprising: a metal case containing an explosive and adapted to withstand the hydrostatic pressure to which the-gun perforator is subjected said case including an integral wall adapted to be destroyed by said explosive; and a blanket of yieldable material interposed between said case and said shell for preventing entrance of fluid between said case and socket, and facilitating removal of said case after said cartridge is firedr 4. The combination with a gun pe'rforator having a cartridge chamber, and a gun barrel having 9, gun bore and bullet, said gun barrel closing an end thereof, of an explosive receiving cartridge comprising: a cup-shaped shell fitting said chamber the base thereof initially engaging the barrel l and covering said gun bore, there being a space formed between'the remaining portion of said shell and the walls of said cartridge chamber;

and a lining of yieldable but substantially non-- compressible material filling said space and confined by the walls of said cartridge chamber and said barrel against escape under urge of explosive pressures generated in said shell, said base adapted to be destroyed upon discharge of said explosive.

5. The combination with a gun perforator having a cartridge chamber, and a gun barrel having a gun bore and bullet, said gun barrel closing an end thereof, of a cartridge comprising: a unitary shell closing the gun barrel end of said socket and extending along the side walls thereof; a base member closing the inner end of said shell; an explosive in said shell adapted to rupture the outer end thereof to actuate said bullet; a lining of yieldable but substantially noncompressible material interposed between said shell and base and walls of the cartridge socket. said and shell; an electrically responsive ignition means in said shell; means for making electrical contact with said base; and a lining of yieldable insulation material around said base and shell.

7. The combination with a gun perforator having a cartridge chamber, and a gun barrel having a gun bore and bullet, said gun barrel closing an end thereof, of a cartridge comprising: a unitary shell closing the gun barrel end of said socket and extending along the side walls thereof; a base member closing the inner end of said shell; an explosive in said shell adapted to rupture the outer end thereof .to actuate said bullet; an electrically responsive ignition means for said explosive; and a lining of yieldable insulation material covering said base and shell and'filling said chamber for sealing said shell against the entrance of fluids and facilitating.

removal of said cartridge after discharge of said explosive.

8. The combination with a gun perforator having a cartridge chamber, and a gun barrel having a gun bore and bullet, said gunsbarrel closing an end thereof, of a cartridge comprising: a unitary shell closing the gun barrel end of said socket and extending along the side walls thereof; a base member closing the inner end of said shell; said base and shell adapted to withstand the hydrostatic pressure of fluids into which the gun perforator may be immersed; an explosive in said shell adapted to rupture the outer end thereof to actuate said bullet; and a lining of yieldable material covering said base and shell and filling said chamber to seal said explosive against the entrance of fluids in which 35 the gun perforator may be immersed, and to facilitate removal of said shell and base after said cartridge has been fired.

9. The combination with a gun perforator having a cartridge socket and a gun .bore of lesser diameter than said socket, forming therewith a shoulder, of a cartridge comprising: a cup-shaped explosive container having integrally formed side and end walls, the end wall initially covering said gun bore and adapted to give way upon combustion of said explosive; and a blanket of yieldable material interposed between the cartridge and walls of said socket to facilitate removal of said case after 'discharge of the explosive. Y

10. A construction, as set forth in claim 9,

, wherein the gun perforator is submerged to great depths in well fluids, said cartridge case is adapted to withstand extreme hydrostatic pressure,

and said blanket excludes the well fluid from the space between said cartridge and socket.

11. The combination with a gun perforator having a cartridge chamber, and having a gun bore communicating with said chamber, of a cartridge comprising: an integral cup-shaped shell adapted to receive an explosive and extending substantially the depth of said chamber and covering an end thereof, a portion of said shell covering said gun bore and adapted to rupture when the explosive pressure exceeds a pre-. determined value; and a lining of yieldable ma-. terial interposed between said shell and said cartridge chamber, sealing said shell against the entrance of fluid and facilitating removal of said case after said cartridge is flred. I.

4 GEORGE F. TURECHEK. 

